SOL #4: Sea Anemones

Our class has been working on non-fiction for some time- typically not their favorite, but our goal was to spark their interest! I have worked with one particular group endlessly, teaching them how to come up with questions and comments about their book on “Sea Anemones“. Before we could prepare, we worked on saying “anemones” (Insert Finding Nemo reference 🙂 ). It was a rocky start, but soon they pronounced anemone with ease and moved on to filling up their books with post-its galore.

Time for book clubs. We moved our tables together and covered them with table cloths. Students had juice boxes to sip as they discussed their books with their group.

At my table, student #1 starts the conversation by asking “Do you think this sea anemone looks like broccoli on page ___?”. Student #2 responds with a giggle and replies “Yeah, I think it looks like broccoli too”. Student #1 REALLY wanted to ask that question.

On to student #2… she asks “What kinds of fish live in sea anemones?”. We decide to ask Google for help, since it was not in the book. As we look up the answer, I ask student #1 to make his best guess. He responds to student #2 with reluctance: “Clown fish live in sea anemones?”.

The biggest smile came across my face in this moment. This student doesn’t like to share, and here he was, making connections in a book club!

I asked him how he knew the answer, and at first he says “I don’t know, I just guessed”. I definitely wasn’t buying that…how modest he is! Finally, he admitted that he saw it in Finding Nemo!!! I am so impressed that he used his schema, with a movie he may have never expected to be educational. 🙂